The present invention relates to the art of vaccinating and debeaking poultry such as baby chicks.
It is well known in the poultry industry that it is desirable to vaccinate baby fowl against disease and to simultaneously debeak or trim the upper half of the chick's beak as well as to count the chicks which have been treated. Vaccination ensures freedom from diseases such as pox, Newcastle disease and bronchitis. Debeaking reduces feather loss and other injuries caused by pecking of the chicks during processing and shipping.
Various methods of vaccination are known such as needle injection into the wing webbing or by dropping the vaccine into the eyes or nostrils of the bird.
As indicated, it is known to simultaneously debeak and vaccinate, and one particularly useful apparatus for doing so is the Beak-O-Vac, Inc. apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,487. In such apparatus the chicks are vaccinated, debeaked and counted in a single operation. An operator grasps a chick in each hand, places a thumb at the base of the skull of each chick and a forefinger around the base of the lower beak of each chick and gently squeezes to open their beaks. The two halves of the beak of each chick are simultaneously placed about a pivotal beak support member, over apertures defined in the beak support member. The operator then thrusts the chicks forward, to pivot the beak support member toward a heated cauterizing element. Movement of the beak support member in this manner energizes a pump which is effective to inject vaccine through the apertures of the beak support member, into the oral cavity of each chick. The upper protruding half of the chick's beak engages the heated cauterizing element which is effective to sear and blunt the protruding beak. The beak support member is continuously cooled by circulating water so that the chick's tongue will not be burned during the operation. A counter is energized upon each depression of the beak support member so that the hatcheryman is able to determine the number of chicks treated and the effectiveness of the operator.